It seems a good opportunity to mention that, there's a private non-for-profit organization named "Mars-One" that is planning to send humans to mars by 2025.Mars One has recently contracted Lockheed Martin and SSTL for a conceptual design of lander and comm. satellite mission to mars in 2018 and there's a fundraising campaign... for more info regarding the mission (specially the 2018 mission) follow this link:http://igg.me/at/marsone/x/5968822

It's going to be the first private unmanned mission to mars, if this mission succeeds, we'd have first HD video streams from mars!!! and it's going to be proof of technology of water extraction from martian soil, thin film solar panels, and it's going to do experiments afforded by universities worldwide!

Mars One doesn't have the requisite financial backing, and no coherent plan to find that backing. Their attitude has been seem a million times before in a million failures: We will announce a great idea with some cool graphics, and magically everything we need will just fall into our laps. It's not gonna happen.

Mars One doesn't have the requisite financial backing, and no coherent plan to find that backing. Their attitude has been seem a million times before in a million failures: We will announce a great idea with some cool graphics, and magically everything we need will just fall into our laps. It's not gonna happen.

I bet you also don't believe in Nominative determinism whilst I am also slightly sceptical about the likelihood of success in this venture i do wish them luck when you think about most of the satellites in geostationary orbit are only there because a lot of the population watches a lot of TV and enough ads are sold for that TV for the companies to afford to put them up there so I don't think Mars one business plan is totally unreasonable.But am a bit doubtful about the long term security of a Mars colony made up from reality TV stars but it could be I am only jealous cause I am missing the charisma gene.

_________________Someone has to tilt at windmills.So that we know what to do when the real giants come!!!!

I'd take it more seriously if they'd been "Moon One" instead. But with all the jokes that would never stop...

Butt you do raise a serious point would it be easier to build our first self sufficient colony on the moon where we could get more tech on site for our money but extracting air,water and carbon from the local environment might be a bit more difficult. I am personally for the do the Moon first for quite a number of reasons but Mars seems to be much more popular in the Zeitgeist of most space enthusiasts.

_________________Someone has to tilt at windmills.So that we know what to do when the real giants come!!!!